


The Clash

by Guardian_of_Hope



Series: The 'Not Canon' Samurai Stories [7]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers RPM, Power Rangers Samurai
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Multi, Pre-Slash, Threesome, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-24
Updated: 2011-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-28 00:04:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/301560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_of_Hope/pseuds/Guardian_of_Hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by 'The Clash of the Red Rangers', or rather a better version with more RPM.</p><p>Antonio meets the infamous Ranger Red of Corinth, one year after his mentor's return, and then his day gets worse. Featuring time travel to an alternate dimension, fighting, making new friends and a cryptic message from his future self.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Uncertain Day

Antonio joined the Samurai for breakfast every morning, regardless of what his own plans were for the day. For one, it annoyed Kevin which was worth it just for that. The other thing is that it gave him a chance to see his favorite people in one place before they got bruised and tired and the words "uncomfortably close" really had a meaning.

Because Emily in her Samurai uniform always needed, a hug and Mike deserved  _every prank_  Antonio devised. Mostly it was his excuse for forcing Jayden to share a futon with him, because how else was Antonio going to spoil his friend's breakfast. In the energetic chaos, Jayden's cereal bowl tended to gain extra inhabitants on a regular basis, some of them normal, some of them, not so much.

"Gummy bears?" Jayden said, as he looked down at his bowl. "Really, Antonio, do we have to do this every morning?"

Antonio affected an innocent look, "I don't know what you think I did. It was Mike.  _He's_  the Greenie around here."

"Yes, because I magically placed the gummy bears in from all the way over here," Mike retorted from where he was supervising Emily in making eggs.

"You heard him," Antonio said, "he admitted to it." He reached over and fished out one of the gold ones, "If you aren't going to eat these?"

"Its way too early in the morning," Jayden said, but started eating the Cheerios around the bears.

"Speaking of early," Antonio said, "I have a thing today, really important. Call if you need me, but I'm going to be late." He teased a red bear from the bowl and bit its head off. "I've been putting this off so long that now I have to do it, or else. Then I need to go fishing because, you know, fresh fish don't catch themselves."

"What about training?" Kevin asked.

"Sparring tonight," Antonio replied easily, "a friend asked me for a friendly match." He stole another bear, "Of course, then I'll have to fight James to, so I'll have plenty of practice."

"James?" Jayden asked.

"He's this kid," Antonio said, "Ranger brat, training since he was five, Black Ranger by heart, all of fifteen years old. He got this idea a few years ago that the day he can beat me in a spar he'll be ready for his morpher. Since his girl is just marking time before getting hers, it's not that unrealistic a goal." The fact that this made Jayden relax was almost cute.

Antonio glanced up at the clock, "I have to go if I'm getting back to the city on time."

"Why not just streak?" Jayden asked, "It seems like you're always going somewhere."

"Because if I leave now," Antonio replied, standing up, "I can get back in plenty of time, instead of just heading down at the last moment." He leaned over; staring down into Jayden's eyes for an eternal second, then he reached out and fished out two more gummy bears. Straightening up, he gave the group a grin, "See you guys later."

Once Antonio had finished the meeting, repeating his personal vow to avoid another one in the future, he headed down to the docks. Now was not the time to tell his friends that he was buying himself a car. He was setting up his gear when his phone rang, "Antonio's fresh fish," he said cheerfully.

"Antonio," Mike said, "is your meeting done?"

"Finally, what's up?" Antonio asked as he settled into his chair.

"We have an unusual visitor. He's a Red Ranger, says he's called Ranger Red and his name is Scott." Mike said.

Antonio straightened up, "Scott Truman, RPM Red Ranger, from Corinth?"

"Uh, let me ask him," Mike said. There was a muffled conversation that Antonio fidgeted through, trying to hear it. "He says yes."

"Ok," Antonio replied.

"You know him or something?" Mike asked.

"I know of him, I think. Ask him if he's ever dealt with time travel before." Antonio said.

"Let me put you on speaker," Mike said. There was a beep, "Can you still hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Antonio replied. "Scott Truman, can you hear me?"

"Yes," an unfamiliar man replied.

"Have you ever dealt with time travel before?" Antonio asked.

There was a pause, "Once," he said finally.

"Six people, Rangers, came from the past," Antonio prompted.

"Hunter Bradley, Cam Watanabe, Dustin Brooks, Conner McKnight, Kira Ford and Ethan James," Scott said promptly.

"Yeah," Antonio said, "it's been a year since they got back, by the way. Hunter and Cam got engaged recently."

"I thought Hunter was dating Dustin," Scott replied, sounding confused.

Antonio laughed, "They are, Hunter actually proposed to Dustin. Did you  _really_  invite an attack 'bot to the 'dark side' for cookies?"

"Is everyone going to tell that story? I was on the morphed side of drunk," Scott protested.

"Ok, Mike, get me off speaker," Antonio said.

"Yeah?" Mike said after a few minutes and another beep.

"He's real," Antonio said. "Cam and the others ended up in his time period by mistake. They changed the timeline when they came back. Cam called him arrogant, but a good person. Dustin and Kira both liked him, and Hunter was impressed. I'd trust him as a Ranger, but that's your call. Does Jayden need me at the house?"

"Jayden, want Antonio to come up?" Mike asked. There was a pause while Jayden answered, "He says to go ahead and fish, but keep an eye out. Scott came through with enemies, grinders. They're robots and our swords didn't really work on them."

"I'll remember that, and tell Scott and Jayden that of course our powers won't work. Grinders aren't part of our enemy line up. Say, that's why so many Rangers died. I'll be up in a few hours. You guys take care."

"You too," Mike replied.

Antonio had just landed his third fish when he heard a weird whirring sound. It took him a moment to realize he'd heard  _of_  this sound, the mechanical noise of the grinders had featured in a few of Dustin's stories of their adventure. Holding himself in a casual position, Antonio eased his hand in his pocket for his morpher, listening and sending an alert to Shiba House. When he judged them close enough, he moved, pulling off the headphones he'd used for his cover and morphing, "Gold Power!"

The grinders were, as he'd been warned, difficult to handle, but he kept fighting. "Need a hand?" Someone asked.

Antonio turned to find himself facing an unfamiliar Red Ranger, "The thought crossed my mind," he replied before ducking a grinder. "Scott Truman, I presume?"

"Antonio," Scott replied, "Heard we had mutual friends."

"Cam is my mentor," Antonio agreed. "We need to get away from the docks. There are always more civilians here than we expect."

"I'll draw them off," Scott said, "how far are the others?"

"Not that far," Antonio replied, "Jayden has a thing about traffic laws."

"Because a speeding ticket matters when you're saving the world," Scott muttered. "Get them and follow me. Hey Grinders, you can't hit the broad side of a barn."

Antonio backed out of the fight and watched as the other man went to town on the grinders, skillfully pulling them into one of the large open spaces with ease. "Antonio," Jayden said, running up beside him. "Are you ok?"

"I still breathe," Antonio replied.

"That's not good," Mike said, pointing.

A large robot had attacked Scott, "Let's help him," Jayden said, lifting his sword.

"Right behind you," Antonio said.

Fighting the robot was nothing like Antonio had expected, unlike Nighloks, there was no organic component, just metal. The robot didn't need armor, it  _was_  armor. He could feel bruises appearing on his legs and his shoulders vibrated from ever hit, but he didn't give up. When the robot powered up what looked like his main weapon, preparing to take out the downed Red Rangers, Antonio didn't think. He threw himself between the two and the monster, aiming to hit the monster. Kevin and the others were right with him, spreading the energy between them even as it ripped past them.

It was as if his body had been ripped apart and reformed. Antonio was not afraid to admit that he screamed.

When he was aware of his surroundings again, he lay on the floor of a large building. At first, he thought that it might be inside some warehouse they'd been blasted into, but then he heard Mike groan and someone say, "They're coming around, Dr K."

As Antonio began to push himself upright, he thought, that doesn't sound good. As soon as he sat up, he looked around. They'd been unmorphed, and all of them were here but Jayden and Scott. Looking up, he found two women watching them. One was a pretty blond in a leather jacket and yellow shirt, the other wore a uniform of some sort under a lab coat. "Hi," he offered, "I'm Antonio. We're Rangers. Scott showed up in our time, he was ok, last I saw. I'm Cam's protégé, we're from a year in the future from their time travel adventure."

"Easy," the blond said, "we can settle details later. I'm Summer, and this is Dr K."

"What's going on?" Kevin asked.

"If I had to take a guess," Mike said, "we've time traveled."


	2. It Keeps Getting Better

Flynn regarded the five Power Rangers as they looked around the Garage and occasionally glanced at the humans. Except for the gold ranger, he was studying them without looking anywhere else. Ziggy was sitting in the briefing room with Gem and Gemma, Summer and Dr K were standing by the pool table, with Dillon and Flynn flanking them. Flynn knew they looked like honor guards for the two, which they were, but Summer was probably planning on playing the pretty girl card to shadow Dr K even more.

"Look," Gold said suddenly, turning to his teammates, "we can breathe the air here. I don't know what game Scott was playing but we'll be fine. Frankly, I don't want to wander around in spandex any more than I have to." He lifted his hands, "Power down."

Flynn studied the man who appeared before him. Early twenties, young enough to look innocent but old enough to be considered an adult, wearing what was clearly his personal style along with a pair of gold shoes, "I'm Antonio," he offered with a little wave, "Gold Samurai Ranger."

"Power down," the other four said in unison.

"This is Kevin in Blue," Antonio continued, gesturing to the African American kid, "Mia in Pink," the Asian girl nodded her head, "Mike in Green." Hispanic kid, who popped his chin at them with a grin, "And she's Emily," Antonio finished, and the girl in yellow waved at them with a bright smile.

"As I said," Summer replied, "I'm Summer, Ranger Yellow and this is Dr K." She put her hand on Flynn's arm and smiled at him, "This is Flynn, Ranger Blue. That's Dillon, Ranger Black, and in the briefing room are Ziggy, Ranger Green, and Gem and Gemma. Gem is Gold and Gemma is Silver."

"Where are we?" Kevin demanded.

"Corinth City," Summer replied, "on Earth."

"It's a possible future," Antonio said, "about a year ago, Cam, Hunter and Dustin, as well as three others, wound up here on accident. They learned about things that had happened and when they got back, they changed things. We don't think this will be the future that will be anymore, but who can say?"

"How do you know Cam, Hunter and Dustin?" Summer asked.

"Cam is my mentor," Antonio replied, "he has been for a few years. Hunter and Dustin I knew through the Ninja Academy before I became a Ranger. I know the Dino Thunders, too."

"Do you know what happened to our Ranger Red?" Dr K asked.

"Do you mean Scott?" Antonio asked.

"Yes," Summer said, "he disappeared earlier."

"He's in our time," Antonio said. He glanced at Kevin, "I wasn't there when he showed up."

"There were these robots," Mike said, "our swords were not working against them, and then Scott showed up and helped."

"He nearly took my head off," Kevin said, "I don't think 'help' is the word I'd use,  _and_  he arrogant."

"Pot calling kettle," Antonio snapped before Flynn or Summer could say anything. "Try not to piss off the people who could possibly send us home please?"

"Who died and made you the leader?" Kevin asked.

"No one," Antonio replied turning to fully face the blue ranger, "I'm just the one who knows anything about where we are, who they are," he gestured to Flynn and the others, "and the likelihood of us getting back on time."

"You always do this," Kevin began.

"Do what?" Antonio snapped back. "If you're implying I brag about my connection to Earth's Rangers, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that telling Mike that Cam said 'hi' was bragging. I wasn't aware that commenting that a  _friend_  told me something was bragging. This is why I was happy that you didn't know I was friends with Rangers. You are just like every other fan, you fail to realize that they're people, and they're my friends. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to figure out how we can get back to help Jayden."

"You aren't even sworn to Shiba House," Kevin began, "you can't even possibly know."

Flynn saw Dillon move out of the corner of his eye, but Antonio had already managed to punch Kevin before Dillon could stop them. Antonio went sill, almost frozen, as he stared at Kevin. "I," he began.

"Kevin," Mia said, "are you ok?"

"Yeah," Kevin said.

"Antonio," Emily said, "are you ok?"

"He hit me," Kevin began.

"Someone told you," Antonio said.

"Tanya did," Emily said softly.

"I don't get it," Kevin muttered.

"Tell him," Antonio said.

Emily knelt down by Kevin and whispered something in his ear, something that clearly left Kevin stunned by it. "I'm sorry," Antonio said when Emily stepped away.

"It's ok," Kevin said calmly, "you're just as freaked out as we are, huh?" He stood up and smiled, "I forgive you."

"That doesn't make it right," Antonio said, "lashing out in anger is never right." He closed his eyes for a moment and then nodded, "About Scott," he turned to the others, "he seems to have come through unharmed, but things weren't going well when we left. That professor robot had him and Jayden on the ropes; we jumped between them when the professor tried to send out that vortex thing. That's how we ended up here."

"You jumped between them," Flynn said.

"Well, it's our duty," Kevin said, "We have to protect Jayden. Of course we'd get between him and danger."

"Your duty," Antonio muttered, "I was just covering for a team mate."

"Ok," Flynn said.

"I know this one," Ziggy said, "You're the Samurai Rangers, right, from Harbor Village?"

"Yeah," Kevin said.

"You guys fought together back in 2011, and," Ziggy began.

"Don't," Antonio said, "we don't need to know what happens. We could change the future."

"Right," Ziggy said, "well, you four are sworn to protect the leader of Shiba House, and Tony looks after Jayden because they're friends and he knows that Jayden will always have his back too. It wasn't always easy for you guys, but usually it meant that you could act together instead of at cross purposes."

When everyone looked at each other Ziggy shrugged, "Conner's my dad. I heard some stories, and once, I even got to stay at Shiba House for a week. Dad's work followed him home and that was pretty much the safest place we could go at the time. Instead of my usual training at the dojo, I trained with the Samurai that week."

"Zigreal McKnight right," Antonio said, "you've grown up." He crossed his arms, "It's still Antonio, by the way."

"I'd still like to know," Mike said, "why Scott was in our world in the first place?"


	3. A Red Moment

Jayden found Scott standing in the living room, staring at a picture, "What?" He asked.

Scott held up the picture so Jayden could see that it was his team, "I was just thinking, you're really close with them aren't you?"

"We are what we need to be," Jayden replied, "but yes, they are my friends."

"They'll be fine," Scott said, "they're with my team and my team will see that they're taken care of."

"Are you sure?" Jayden asked softly.

"Positive," Scott said firmly. He put the picture back and reached up, pulling off his helmet with a sigh.

"I thought you couldn't take that off?" Jayden asked to cover his shock. He studied the older Ranger for a long moment.

"I can't demorph," Scott replied, "because I won't have the energy to morph again until I get back, but this just puts the suit in standby."

"Why didn't you pull your helmet off earlier then?" Jayden asked.

Scott grinned at him, "I met Mike and Emily in Corinth after the rangers started teaching us. Mike likes to share stories about his old teammate's rocky cooking history. I probably shouldn't say this, Jayden, but the community center here offers cooking lessons. They require you to take a basic cooking course before taking anything advanced."

"What about it?" Jayden asked.

"It might be an interesting Christmas gift for Mia," Scott said. "Mike said it worked for their Mia."

"I'll keep that in mind," Jayden said.

Scott sighed as he toyed with his helmet, "Jayden, I know more than you think. I'm not going to say anything, because it's not my place, but no matter how things work out, it'll be ok." He glanced at the picture, "Antonio is really friendly isn't he?"

Jayden looked at the picture and couldn't help his grin, "He's like that sometimes." He glanced at Scott, "So, what about your team. What are they like?"

Scott smiled fondly, "They're the best. Gem and Gemma are our Gold and Silver Rangers, they were the first ones to have morphers, but they joined the team last. Sometimes they're a little hard to deal with, usually when they're excited, but they know demolitions and fighting like no other. Ziggy and Dillon were our second wave of Rangers. Ziggy wears green and Dillon wears black. Ziggy is from another planet, but he grew up on Earth, his adopted dad was a Ranger and friends with his birth dad, also a Ranger. Dillon's mom was a Ranger, but he lost his memories because of Venjix, our master villain. His real name is James, but he prefers Dillon for now." Scott put his helmet on the table with a sigh, "Then there's Flynn and Summer."

"Problems?" Jayden asked, sitting on one of the futons.

"No," Scott said, "no, just the opposite. Flynn, Summer, and I worked together for a year to hold Corinth. They're my partners, my teammates, and they're the loves of my life."

"Love," Jayden said.

"Yes," Scott said, "it hasn't been easy, and we haven't worked out all the issues between us, but we're a triad. We support each other by being each other's strength." He sat down beside Jayden, "I won't lie, we've had troubles, damn near tore ourselves apart because we weren't honest with each other, but Flynn and Summer are everything to me."

"Everything," Jayden said, he sighed, "must be nice."

"You could have that too," Scott said.

"I can't," Jayden said, "I have to lead the Samurai and defeat Master Xandred."

"Doesn't mean you can't find someone to love," Scott replied, "you just can't let it distract you."

Jayden glanced over at Scott, "You know something about me, don't you?"

Scott shrugged, "I know a few things. Mike and Emily told me a lot of stories about their days as Rangers. All of the Rangers share stories when they can, so that we know our history."

"Antonio talks about that sometimes," Jayden said, "Ranger history."

"You're a Ranger too," Scott said, "it's your history same as ours."

"I'm a Samurai by blood and tradition," Jayden said firmly, "being a Ranger is what I have to be to defeat Xandred. I have a history as rich and as important as yours."

"I'm not saying that it isn't," Scott replied, "but Jayden, you wear the same red spandex I do. That makes you a Ranger as much as Shane's sponsorship and Jason's acknowledgement. You wouldn't be here if they didn't approve of you. Jayden, you have the heart of a true Red Ranger."

Jayden shook his head, "You don't understand."

"Actually I do," Scott replied with a slight smile. "Emily and Mike made it safe to Corinth, but they weren't the only Samurai Rangers who came to Corinth." He raised his eyebrows at Jayden, "No one knows where you and Antonio are, of course."

"Don't," Jayden said, standing up. "Don't, Scott. You don't know what you say."

"I wasn't going to," Scott said with a shrug. "I'm not stupid. But I'll tell you this, I agree with Mike and Emily on the matter." He stood up and grabbed his helmet, "Would it be possible for me to have something to eat?"

"Sure," Jayden replied, "just don't eat anything that's been cooked. There are sandwich makings in there."

"I'll do that," Scott said. "Remember what I said about those cooking lessons though."

"I'll keep it in mind," Jayden replied. He didn't watch Scott walk away; instead, he stared at the table. He had never met anyone who had known his secret except Ji. To know that he had only to stand and speak to have his questions answered shook him to his core. Even so, he couldn't help but wonder what Scott meant about Mike and Emily's opinions. The two young Samurai were impulsive and free spirited in their own ways, which created a great deal of tension with Kevin and Mia, who had had the benefit of a Samurai Ranger mentoring them. Jayden knew Kevin would have preferred it if Jayden reigned in Mike and Emily's exuberance, but he refused. The pair deserved their youth for as long as they could hang on to it. Especially Emily and her innocence


	4. A Life Less Traveled

"Good morning Rangers," Dr K said as the Samurai and Summer's team came down stairs.

"Morning, Dr K," Summer said as she handed Ziggy some orange juice. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did not sleep," Dr K replied. "I have determined the safest way to return the Samurai Rangers to their time and to send some of our own to retrieve our errant Ranger Red."

"How?" Antonio asked, Summer was amused to note that he actually looked interested, even as his team mates exchanged bored looks.

"By using the energy recordings from your arrival, I can generate a reverse vortex to allow you to return to the location of the original vortex. By use of a mobile device, I can reliably send an additional two Rangers to ensure Ranger Red's safe return." Dr K said.

"Mobile device," Antonio began.

"Can we save the tech talk until after breakfast?" Mike asked suddenly, "No offense meant, but I think better with food in me."

"How do waffles sound?" Ziggy asked as he knelt down under the sink. "I can have them ready in ten- fifteen minutes."

"That sounds great," Mike replied.

"Would you like some help?" Mia offered.

"No thanks," Ziggy said easily, "I prefer to cook alone. That way, I know everything's been done right."

Dillon, who was standing by Kevin, muttered, "Not to mention we were warned."

"What?" Kevin asked, keeping his voice down only by chance.

"How much longer do you need on the device?" Scott asked before Dillon could say anything.

"It will be ready this afternoon," Dr K replied, "I am adapting the device we used previously."

"Would you like some help?" Antonio asked, "I'm no slouch with technology."

"No," Dr K replied, "I have assistance coming."

The Garage doors swung open and a familiar, pale blue car pulled in. "Hailey," Ziggy called from the kitchen before anyone else could comment.

"Morning Ziggy," Hailey called back as she slid out of her car. "Good morning, Rangers. I heard we had some visitors?"

"Yes," Summer said, "these are the Samurai Rangers, from the year two thousand and eleven."

"After the time travel changed things," Antonio butted in. "Hailey Kendall, I presume."

"Yes," Hailey said, "Tony Garcia."

"Antonio," Antonio corrected.

"Sorry," Hailey replied as she joined the group.

"My team is Kevin, Mike, Mia, and Emily," Antonio added with a slight gesture. "It's good to see you here. Cam told me you were here, but a lot of things happen in a year."

"They do indeed," Hailey agreed. "I'm sorry that Cam didn't make it. Blake is the only member of their team to make it."

Antonio nodded, "I had heard that. I was wondering if you knew anything about, well, us."

"Mike and Emily are here," Hailey said, "with Jade and Sushi of course."

"With who?" Mike asked.

"People you'll meet in the future," Hailey said with a fond smile. "Jay and Tony are in Russia, they were over there when the domes were sealed." Her smile faded and her eyes were gentle, "No one knows what happened to Kevin and Mia, they were declared Missing in Action. There were rumors of Samurai fighting Grinders at Harbor Village, but nothing substantial."

"Right," Antonio said with a quick nod.

"Thank you for coming to help, Doctor Kendall," Dr K said, "we do not have much time." She turned and hurried into the Ranger Room.

"All you've ever had to do was ask," Hailey replied as she followed the girl.

"Ok," Kevin said, "that sounded a little ominous."

"A lot of Rangers died fighting Venjix," Summer said, "every team has lost at least one member, and in a lot of cases they lost two."

"It's not that I don't believe you," Kevin said, "but we don't know a lot of Rangers."

"Cam died," Antonio said, "Venjix crashed his zord while he was trying to rescue his father and the ninja students. Dustin, Tori, Hunter, and Shane are all presumed dead, from what Cam told me. Blake survived, he's here in Corinth. I don't know about Jason though."

"Jason didn't make it," Ziggy said quietly. "Jason and Trini Lee Scott died in Angel Grove with Adam and Tanya Park. Their children are safe in Corinth."

"Oh," Antonio said.

"Not all of them," Summer said, "Jinx, Julian Park, was killed during a monster attack in the city."

"Jinx is dead?" Antonio said, turning to look at her.

"You knew him?" Summer asked.

Antonio nodded, "Adam was my first Sensei. I- I was the one who nicknamed the kid Jinx." He turned away, striding across the Garage for the double doors before anyone could stop him.

Summer glanced over at Flynn, then followed.

Antonio had reached the end of the drive by the time Summer caught up to him. "I'm sorry," she said as she fell in step beside him.

"It's ok," Antonio said, "you didn't know." He hesitated for a moment, "You said that Paul and Nina made it here safely?"

"Yes," Summer said, "we don't see them often, but they're here. Jinx… he worked for Doctor K, before the shield went up, he was her lab assistant. He used to come around with Doctor Kendall afterwards." She blinked as tears built up in her eyes, "I remember, he used to flirt with Flynn all the time. Flynn always got so freaked about it. Scott, he'd never say anything but, looking back, he was always jealous when Jinx did it."

"Are Flynn and Scott, together?" Antonio asked hesitantly.

"Not in the way you're thinking," Summer said, and brushed away a stray tear. "The three of us, we're working it out. We, well, we love each other, and we want to be together, it's just that we have a lot to work out. We almost destroyed everything before because we didn't talk about it. Kira and Dustin, they saved us in a way."

"They're good at that," Antonio said, "they're yellows. Hunter and Dustin got engage, by the way."

"Oh, I'm so happy for them," Summer said. "I didn't know what to think when Kira locked them in the closet together."

Antonio grinned, "It was exactly what they needed. Cam's still single, though. Conner and Nia, his wife, are talking about adopting again. Kira and Trent have a daughter now, she's about a month old. Ethan's girlfriend proposed to him. She says she got tired of waiting on him."

Summer laughed, "I actually can see that happening. I thought Conner and Nia only had three children though."

"They do, they're just talking about adopting a fourth," Antonio replied. They reached the base boundary and turned back to the Garage. "I have to ask, Ziggy, is he Conner's son?"

"Yes," Summer replied, "although his story isn't what you'd expect."

"That's cool," Antonio said, "I was just curious." They arrived at the Garage just then and Antonio sniffed appreciatively, "It smells great in here."

"Thanks," Ziggy called.

The roar of a motorcycle made everyone turn to the Garage entrance. A pair of motorcycles pulled into the Garage. One bike was black with green accents to it, and the rider wore black leathers with green accents with a black helmet with a stylized animal and a kanji symbol on it. The other rode a white and yellow bike and wore white and yellow leathers, the helmet had a different animal and kanji on it.


	5. Talking To Myself

Helmets were pulled off simultaneously to reveal a Hispanic man with a scarred face and a Caucasian woman who moved her right arm stiffly, and with a jagged scar running along her jaw. "Hi," the man said, "I'm Mike Ramos, Green Samurai Ranger and this is my wife Emily. We heard that we'd come from the past with part of the team."

"I don't even want to know how you found out," Scott muttered.

"Blake Bradley told us," older Mike said as he put his helmet on his bike. "We came down here to give Antonio a message."

"Ok," Antonio said.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Mike said, "It's important."

"Sure," Antonio replied.

Older Emily also put her helmet on her bike. "I actually wanted to chat with me," she said with a quiet smile, "but that's nothing secretive."

"Be careful," older Mike told her and kissed her cheek.

"Don't take too long," older Emily replied, "you know how Jade and Sushi get if we leave them alone too long."

"They'll be fine," older Mike replied. He gestured to Antonio, "Come with me, please."

Antonio shrugged and followed the older man outside. "What did you want to say?" He asked.

"First of all," Mike said, "do you really think the time line has changed?"

"I know it has," Antonio replied, "Dr K will never be tortured by Alphabet Soup, nor will Gem and Gemma. Plus, Dustin is friends with the ninjas again."

"That's good," Mike said, "that's real good. My next request for you is this. When things on the team go south, and they will, don't abandon us please."

"I would never abandon my team," Antonio said.

"The thing is, when it happens," Mike said, "Emi and I won't know what to do at first, we'll freeze and choke before we realize the right thing to do. In our time line, we couldn't get out when we needed to and things got bad. We won, but it cost us a lot more than it should have." He rubbed the scar on his face idly, then he reached in his pocket, "There's one other thing and I got this message from Tony this morning when we told him what was going on. Before things go south you need to do two things."

"What's that?" Antonio asked, curious what his elder-ego had to say.

"First is to fix the broken morphers," Mike said, "apparently we used new morphers; Ji has the broken morphers Ben died for in Shiba House. The second is that you're going to need this." He took a small box out and offered it to Antonio.

Antonio opened it and hissed, "Is he serious?"

"Apparently, he said you wouldn't want them, but if you see what he saw, you'll understand."

Antonio closed the box and put it in his pocket, "I hope what happened to you guys doesn't happen to us."

"I hope it goes better for you," Mike replied.

"Mike, we should go," Emily called, "before they manage to burn the house down."

Mike laughed, "It was only once, Emi." He clapped Antonio on his shoulder, "Thanks for listening man. Take care of Jayden, hey?"

"Always," Antonio replied.

They walked back in the Garage and Mike picked up his helmet, then he looked at his younger self, "Hey Mike, look after Emily ok? She's the best of us." He slung his leg over his bike, snapped his helmet on and kick started his bike with Emily following him. The two of them spun their bikes neatly and roared out of the Garage in unison.

"Breakfast is ready," Ziggy announced.

After an uneasy breakfast, Antonio found his way up to the roof where he was left undisturbed. He had a lot to think about. He had known for some time that something was up with Jayden, something he could never put a finger on. Ji had pushed him hard, even as a child. Not to mention how Jayden had seemed to be verbally dancing around something since he had come back. Now a badly scarred Mike had given him something that could potentially destroy a Ranger team, had given it to him because that Mike's Antonio had told him to. The unseen Antonio had known how that container would affect him, but had gotten it into his hands anyway; had insisted that he'd want to use it at some point. Jason would kill him if he knew he had it. Every one of the Rangers he'd called friend would never speak to him, but it had been given to him anyways.

Mike had asked him not to abandon his team. The fact that he felt it was necessary told Antonio that whatever happened to them, it was going to be bad. It would be bad enough that Antonio would bail on his team, a fact that he couldn't imagine ever becoming truth. He'd also specifically told him to take care of Jayden which suggested that whatever happened, it would affect Jayden.

"Antonio," Summer called suddenly, jarring Antonio out of his thoughts.

Antonio stuffed the container into his pocket, "Hey Summer," he said, "what's up?"

"I brought you a sandwich," Summer replied, holding up her tray. "It is lunch time, and they're almost done with the device."

"Oh, ok," Antonio said, "thank you."

Summer set the tray down by Antonio and then sat down beside him, "Flynn and I are going to go with you to get Scott."

"That's cool," Antonio said, selecting a sandwich, "I'm sure he's ok, Jayden will make sure of it."

"I am too," Summer replied. She picked up one of the sandwiches on the tray, "You clearly trust Jayden, so Flynn and I are taking your word for it."

Antonio bit into his own sandwich to give himself a moment, "Dustin said you three were close."

Summer shrugged, "We're working things out as a trio, but we've all got issues." Antonio said nothing and Summer sighed, "It's just that we nearly destroyed ourselves the first time around so we're being careful."

"Careful is as careful does," Antonio replied, "but I understand."

"Want to talk about it?" Summer offered.

Antonio grinned, "You are such a yellow."

"I know I am," Summer said, "I was born this way."

Antonio nodded, "Jayden and I were best friends when we were little. We spent hours together doing things. Then my dad and I moved away. When we left, Jayden gave me the Octopus zord as a present, and a reminder of my promise. You see, we both knew he was going to grow up to be the Red Ranger like his dad, and I wasn't about to let him fight alone. It's been over ten years, but I never forgot. Octo wouldn't let me. I studied martial arts, became a ninja student and finally a Samurai, thanks to the Wind Rangers and Cam. When Jayden called the team, I knew it was almost time for me to go. Cam and I built my morpher to interact with Octo and allowing me to become part of the Samurai power structure. When I joined the team, I realized something though."

"What?" Summer asked.

"I spent a very long time thinking about Jayden and I built up a mental image of the man he could be. I fell for that image too. Then Cam's grandfather offered to finish my Samurai training. One of the things he did was that he showed me some of my more persistent illusions. I know that I love my image of Jayden, based on dreams and half remembered memories. I don't know that I love Jayden, Red Samurai. I don't even know if he's male-oriented. I'm waiting now, both to see how Jayden feels, but also to know him. We were close once, but it's been a long time and we're different people. I can't let my illusion cloud my emotions, but it isn't easy."

"Don't worry," Summer said, "I'm sure it will all work out."

"You and me both," Antonio replied.

The door to the roof banged open and Mike skidded onto the roof. "Hey, Dr K says she's ready."


	6. The Return

They gathered in the Ranger Room, where Dr K paced with agitation. Flynn and Summer carried backpacks that they set down at their feet. "Flynn, Summer," she said, "You will be going with the Samurai, correct."

"Of course," the pair said in unison.

"You will locate Ranger Red and deal with the 'bot he was following," Dr K said, she held a box out to Flynn, "This is the remote activator for the vortex that will bring you back here. While your point of arrival will be where the Samurai left, you may activate the vortex anywhere."

Flynn took the box and put it in the backpack, "I'll take good care of this."

"If something happens to it," Dr K continued, "Contact Dr Kendall, Watanabe, or Brooks, any of them have the technological knowledge to be able to repair it."

"Right," Flynn nodded.

"I believe we are ready," Antonio began.

"Wait," Ziggy said, "you know my dad, Conner McKnight, right?"

"I know him," Antonio said.

"Can you give him a message for me?" Ziggy asked.

"Ok," Antonio replied, tempted but discarding a need to correct the teen's grammar.

"Please, tell dad that waiting to tell me about Gia is a good idea, but it might be best if I find out before I hit puberty." Ziggy said, "He never told me and I didn't handle it well when I found out just how like my real mom I actually am."

"I will tell him," Antonio agreed. "It might take me a day or two, depending on how things go, but I'll tell him."

"Thanks," Ziggy said.

"Not a problem," Antonio replied. "If that's everything," he glanced at his team, who shifted to stand close behind him, "I think we're ready."

"We are to," Flynn said after exchanging a glance with Summer.

"Good luck," Gem and Gemma called.

"Hurry back," Ziggy added.

"We will," Summer and Flynn said as they put their backpacks on.

"Initiating reverse vortex," Dr K announced as she settled behind her computers. There was a click of keys, and then a blue-white light forced Antonio to close his eyes.

The smell of the sea, accompanied by the cry of sea gulls indicated their journey was complete. "All right," Antonio said and pulled out his morpher, "Let's contact Ji, and see what's going on."

"Why not just call Jayden?" Kevin asked.

"He never answers when he's fighting," Antonio replied, aware that his tone was bordering on a whine. "It's just easier to ask Ji." He paused, "It's ringing, hush."

"Hello?" Ji said.

"Ji, it's Antonio, we're back," Antonio said, "and we brought Scott some friends. What's going on?"

"Are you all right?" Ji asked.

"Nominally in one piece," Antonio said, "where's Jayden, is he ok?"

"Jayden and Scott have gone to fight Professor Cog," Ji said, "they are at the quarry on the far side of the mountain.

"Great, thanks. We'll see you later," Antonio said and flipped the phone shut. "They're fighting Cog right now. I'm going ahead you guys bring our friends. I'll call you with an update." He turned and launched himself into a ninja streak before anyone could react. He hated leading, but as good as Kevin was tactically, Antonio knew that the other Ranger needed more confidence to be a good second.  _The least he could do would be to get better at taking control instead of letting me take control._

He came to a stop overlooking the quarry and watched as Scott and Jayden fired at each other. "What?" he whispered, then flipped open his phone. "Kevin, it's Antonio," he said. "Scott and Jayden, they're fighting…wait." He watched as the two reds turned to fire on Cog, "I don't know what that was all about, but they're fighting Cog, there are Grinders, Moogers, and a Nighlok as well. Get here now. I've got to go."

The Samurai symbol Antonio was best at was also his favorite. He slashed the air and grabbed his Barracuda Blade tightly. Then he leaped off the cliff with a wordless war cry, switching to ninja streak half way down. He landed and knocked the Mooger over that had been sneaking up on Jayden.

"Antonio!" Jayden said, pausing to stay at him.

"We're back," he said over his shoulder before tangling with a Grinder. "The others will be here soon." He spun, ending up back to back with Scott, "Brought your partners along as well. Flynn's got some kind of device to get you guys home."

"Thanks," Scott said.

They got their backs to the cliff and Antonio reached for his morpher, "I think we need to even the odds," he began.

"Not without us," Kevin called just before the Samurai came into sight, sliding down a path from the top of the cliff that Antonio was positive hadn't been there before. Then he spotted Emily's Samuraizer in her hand and thought of what Earth meant to the Samurai. Behind the team were Summer and Flynn, both pale and dazed but determined. Summer, point in fact, didn't bother with the last bit of path, instead diverting to jump straight down and into Scott's arms. A hug and a kiss, then she pulled back and slugged him in the arm.

"That's for not waiting for us," She announced. "Dammit Scott, you couldn't wait five seconds for us to follow you?"

You couldn't see his face, but you didn't have to be an expert in reading body language to know that Scott was embarrassed. "I tried to wait, Summer," he tried finally, "but the portal was already closing. I had to go through."

"Never mind that," Jayden said, "is everyone ok?"

"Of course," Antonio said.

"We're fine," Kevin added.

"You should morph," Scott said, "all of you. We need to deal with this first, and then we can have a happy reunion."

They all nodded to each other and formed a line. "Samuraizer," Kevin and the team shouted as they produced their morphers, "Go, go, Samurai."

"Samurai morpher," Antonio declared, "gold power!"

"RPM," Flynn and Summer cried in unison, "Get in Gear."

Adam had once told him that morphing with a mixed team, or in a team up, was different. That the Power reacted differently, lending to each Ranger the strengths needed to fight enemies they had never met before.

It was as if his world had suddenly exploded, he now knew about Grinders, Venjix, and attack 'bots in a way he'd never expected. He knew that there were four other members of RPM, that they were a true team and not an alliance. He knew Gem wore Gold and focused obsessively on his sister and Dr K because the rest of the team had trouble dealing with his natural personality.

Antonio shook his head slightly, bringing the present into a better focus. "Rangers together," the Samurai Rangers cried, "Samurai FOREVER!"

They summoned their weapons and leapt forward, the RPM Rangers beside them.


	7. Home

It was a party to end all parties. Prompted by Ji, there was plenty of food procured by the servants of Shiba House, and music. Watching Scott finally power down, only to be attacked by Summer and Flynn for hugs and punches made the entire Samurai team laugh. Antonio made it a point to dance with all three Lady Rangers and to show Mike a move or two before slipping away.

Jayden had vanished around the time Antonio had convinced Emily to join him in a wildly acrobatic dance that had consisted more of keeping each other on their feet during crazy turns and tosses than anything resembling an actual dance.

Antonio found Jayden in his room, sitting on his bed, "Hey," he said, "you ok?"

Jayden gave him a tired smile, "Yeah," he said. "I'm glad you're back safe."

Antonio hesitated, and decided to play it dense. "We were fine. We landed in the middle of their Ranger base." He walked across the floor and sat down beside his friend. "I was told that the RPM Rangers had made it difficult for Venjix to launch the offensive attacks necessary to get into Corinth. They've been out tracking down Venjix strongholds, wiping out the robots, freeing human prisoners, and anything else they can do to disrupt Venjix's army. It's working too. They've almost managed to win the war."

"Scott was telling me that," Jayden said, "but it's hard to believe when I can't see it."

"We were all worried about you," Antonio said after a long moment of silence. He bumped his friend with his shoulder, "We were safe. You were pinned down by a monster with a Red Ranger we didn't know." He paused, "Speaking of, why were you two firing on each other anyways?"

"You saw that?" Jayden asked.

"I did," Antonio confirmed.

"Remember Cog's hypno-bolts?" Jayden said, "They were meant to make me and Scott fight each other. Ji realized something was wrong and was able to neutralize the bolts before it was too late."

"How?" Antonio asked.

"With symbol power," Jayden said, "it's a variant of the one I used when Kevin was mind controlled."

"Ji can use symbol power," Antonio mused.

"He's not as strong as we are," Jayden replied, "but he did teach me. He has a pen like our Samuraizers, except he can't use it to morph. It's a teaching tool my great-grandfather created for when one of the Rangers doesn't have a Samurai Ranger teacher to show them how to use the symbols."

"Ok," Antonio nodded, "how does that lead you and Scott to fire on each other?"

"We did it to get close to Cog. He wanted to see us destroy each other, so we obliged. We cut down a lot of Grinders and Moogers as 'collateral damage' before that final shot. Scott and I exchanged shield devices to protect from the attacks." Jayden explained.

"I understand," Antonio said finally, "but I can't deny that my heart skipped a beat when I saw you two fire at each other."

They fell silent, and Antonio felt the weight of words he wasn't ready to admit press down on him. Finally, Jayden cleared his throat, "So," he turned, "Scott told me he knew Samurai Rangers in Corinth."

"Yeah," Antonio said, seizing the chance to say something. "Mike and Emily got married, and they came to see us. It was really weird. No one knew what happened with Kevin and Mia, but you and I were together in Russia."

"In Russia," Jayden repeated.

"That's what Mike said. I think they had kids, although I hope if that's true they call them by nicknames." Antonio replied.

"Why is that?" Jayden asked.

"Because who names their kid Sushi?" Antonio said. He grinned as Jayden laughed, head tilting back and looking, for a moment, like he once had as a child. For a moment, Jayden was untroubled by the burdens of life, and Antonio felt his gut clench. It was very easy to love Jayden.

"Hey you two," Emily said, appearing in the doorway, "Scott says they need to leave."

"Right," Jayden said, looking away from Antonio. "Antonio was just telling me about Corinth."

"I can't believe older me was on a motorcycle," Emily said, "I've never ridden a motorcycle in my life!"

"Maybe you should learn," Jayden suggested, "you never know when it could come in handy."

"Mike already offered to teach me," Emily replied, bouncing back as Jayden and Antonio stood up, "He's got a license and a bike of his own, he keeps them at his mom's place."

"You learn something new every day," Antonio quipped. "Remind me, I have to call everyone and let them know what happened."

"Why?" Jayden asked.

"Because my phone's been vibrating like mad for at least the past hour," Antonio replied, "and that means someone's been tracking me again." He sighed, "They're all so over protective, it's unreal. I mean, I get that it's been two years since the Pai Zhua Rangers defeated Dai Shi but that doesn't mean we need baby sitters."

"They do it because they care," Emily said. "I know we only met them once, but Jason really cared about you, as did Cam."

"I know," Antonio muttered, "doesn't mean it's not annoying."

The RPM Rangers were gathered in the back garden, waiting, "I can't believe you're leaving," Emily declared as she threw herself forward to hug Summer a final time. "I haven't had the chance yet to meet many yellows."

"I understand," Summer replied, "it's the same back home." She squeezed Emily tight and let go, "Take care of yourself, Emily."

"I will," Emily replied, "good luck with Venjix."

"Thanks," Summer replied.

Jayden clasped hands with Scott and Antonio gripped Flynn's wrist, "I'm going to look you up," he told the blue ranger. "Because I'm curious now about what will happen. I also wanted to give you a final piece of advice."

"Aye," Flynn said, with a curious expression.

"When you go looking for Gem and Gemma's family," Antonio said, "you have to look off planet. They were born on Earth, but their dad is from another planet. They were kidnapped from the fertility center they were born in, even with all the Rangers watching over them. They are Ranger children, just like James and Ziggy, just not Earthian Ranger kids."

"I'll remember that," Flynn replied. "We'll let Dr K know. I know she's been searching for their parents ever since she found her own."

"Just their dad," Antonio said. "They have a biological mother, but she only as emergency custody. If something happens to Ka…their dad, then their mom has first refusal."

"Right," Flynn nodded as they released hands. He backed up to join the other two, "Take care of yourself, Antonio."

"Don't worry about me," Antonio replied, "I've got my team."

Farewells exchanged, the RPM Rangers took each other's hand and Summer held the box out to Flynn, who activated it. A brief flash of blue/white light and the Samurai stood alone in the back yard.

"Well," Antonio said as they all headed back inside, "it's good to be back. I have to go call people, and find my fishing gear."

"It's here," Jayden said, "after the fight, I brought your gear to the house so it would be safe."

"Gee thanks," Antonio said, "so much for my first attempt to put off the calling people part."

Yes, watching Jayden laugh illustrated to Antonio just how easy it was to love him.


End file.
